• Those who currently hold a Fellowship (the York Fellowship Community)
• Those considering applying for a Fellowship (prospective Fellows, usually PhDs or postdocs)
• Those who support Fellows and prospective Fellows (research support staff and senior academics)

The events at Fellowship Fortnight reflect these varied audiences. 2023 events included:

• Workshops and talks for prospective fellows, including our flagship intensive development programme, Preparing for Fellowship Success (PfFS) and drop-in writing/surgery sessions.
• Professional development and career development activities - including narrative CVs, leadership and policy engagement
• Fellowship community social events and research culture cafes
• Best practice events for academic and professional services staff who support and ‘sponsor’ current and prospective Fellows.

Preparing for Fellowship Success (PfFS), which runs over 3 half days, is a major part of the fortnight. This development programme, aimed at both internal and external researchers, hosts ~30 applicants a year. Developed around the '3 Ps' of Fellowships (Person, Project, Place), it supports applicants to begin preparing a Fellowship application in preparation for submission within the next 12 months.

The 2023 calendar of events included collaborations with early career forums, interdisciplinary research centres, and The York Policy Engine, all of whom contributed to a very successful fortnight of events. The format of events varied: there is still a preference for online-only events, but some of our sessions were run in-person (particularly social events for Fellows), and we used the opportunity to trial hybrid events for the first time.

• Navigating induction and probation
• Managing yourself and your career
• Leading your research group
• Managing research projects

Every topic contains links to local sources of support, policy, and guidance at Imperial, as well as external services.

The Academic’s Success Guide provides perspectives and relevant advice from PIs and senior managers from academic departments and professional services at Imperial on the induction and probation process, as well as a wide range of tools and strategies to support new academics with establishing their career. The sections on managing projects and leading a research group cover processes and offer tried and tested models, along with useful tip sheets and templates to help navigate the day-to-day work of managing projects and people. 

This resource is designed to be accessible by everyone and although it has been designed with Imperial academics in mind, the topics covered are universally relevant to all UK academics. The resource is modular and bite-sized, allowing for timely support to new academics as and when needed. To ensure that everyone can get the most out of this comprehensive resource, a short introductory video has been produced.

As part of the University’s institutional commitment to supporting the career development of researchers, the Festival is promoted as a time to take stock and focus on personal goals and career aspirations. The Festival programme is researcher-led, with the majority of sessions devised, designed and delivered by researchers. Academic and professional support staff also contribute to the Festival which further endorses this valuable opportunity for professional development.

The Festival is an important platform for raising awareness of the Researcher Development Concordat, for example providing dedicated opportunities for researchers to share best practice from across departments and co-create the University Concordat, and more recently the Research Culture Action Plan. Contributions from the Rainbow Alliance (the staff equality social and support network), the Staff Race Equality Forum and the Women in Research Network seek to integrate researchers within the University community where diversity is recognised, valued and celebrated. In addition to aligning with the Environment and Culture and Professional Development Principles, the 2022 programme included ‘Being a researcher at York’ which was a session delivered by HR colleagues, highlighting the employment policies, entitlements and benefits available to researchers.

Further highlights from the Festival include researcher-led sessions on the following topics: 

• Opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary research
• Introduction to sustainable research
• Looking after your mental health in academia
• What are early career fellowships, and how can they help you develop your career?

To support continuous professional development highlights from the most popular Festival sessions have been professionally edited and promoted as an ‘on-demand’ resource so that researchers and PIs can access and revisit them throughout the year.

We established a simple application process, which involves the postdoc, student and supervisors discussing roles and responsibilities and agreeing with the appointment before the School’s Director of Graduate Studies approves it. To avoid adding pressure on Schools, applications are then processed by the Postdoctoral Development Centre (PDC), which records them on relevant systems and issues appointment letters to the postdocs. They can also use their supervision practice to apply for Associate-Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, which the university's institutional review process provides for free. The PDC also organises a yearly supervision workshop for postdoctoral researchers, to complement what they learn ‘by doing’ and from the other supervisors and student. They thus develop key skills valuable for their personal and career development, and some even decide to apply for certification as Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

The role is promoted by Directors of Graduate Studies, by the PDC at new postdoc inductions, and at the mandatory training attended by all academic supervisors.

We ensured the eligibility criteria were fair and had a bit of flexibility to enable postdocs to get involved with PhD supervision and recognised without them being overwhelmed by too much responsibility (e.g. advising on the number of students supervised at once, the extent of postdoctoral experience before getting involved, the overlap between the postdoc’s contract and the PhD etc.).

We believe this contributes to recognising and valuing the contributions of people at different career stages and roles within research, and promotes a culture of mentoring across stages, with postdocs mentoring PhDs and supervisors mentoring postdocs.

This initiative aligns with the Researcher Development Concordat’s obligation to consistently assess and report on the research environment and culture, actively seeking feedback from researchers, and utilising the outcomes to enhance institutional practices.

It does this through:

Open research: The University’s initiative aims to make research outputs, data, and other products publicly available, emphasising transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility.

Stakeholder involvement: The research initiative involves patients, the public, and decision-makers throughout the research process.

Knowledge mobilisation: Providing guidance on implementing knowledge mobilisation activities and promoting an integrated, participatory approach to knowledge production.

Evidence-informed: Based on a focused evidence review and synthesis of peer-reviewed and grey literature, emphasising evidence-based decisions and actions.

Collaboration: Fostering collaborative partnerships among researchers, practitioners, and knowledge users to co-generate new, accessible knowledge.

The research stage briefs for the resource can be downloaded from theUniversity’s Discovery Portal.

Speakers contributed their expertise to the programme by:

• sharing their top tips for research innovation, collaboration, and management
• explaining how they have made key leadership decisions
• talking about the factors that have shaped their research career journey
• setting practical exercises and group discussions

Speakers were asked to include issues of supporting diversity in their presentations and diversity of speakers was ensured. Specific equality, diversity and inclusion topics were also covered e.g., 'Equality on Research Careers' by REF 2021 Equality and Diversity Advisory Panel (EDAP) member Emerita Prof Fiona Ross CBE.

Action learning set (peer mentorship) group work and individual peer mentorship activities bring together those at similar levels of experience to optimise effective learning. In this way, the Academy is designed to accommodate participants with a wide range of levels of experience in research leadership, from novice to expert.

Participants who complete at least 25 hours receive an Academy certificate, which they can add to their professional development portfolio. They can also add their personal objectives for the Academy (which they submit as part of their application) to their three-year research plans. Sessions are scheduled to fit around the teaching, practice delivery and potential caring responsibilities of participants.

The Academy is open to academics from every faculty, PhD students and early career researchers. Applications are received via a Kingston University Microsoft Forms portal in the Autumn term (with line manager/supervisor agreement). When the portal opens Prof Harries gives an on-line briefing presentation and Q&A session about the Academy for people to find out more. Recruitment communications encourage people from diverse backgrounds and levels of experience to apply.

The current process, developed over time by the RDG, is that applications of up to £500 are considered from both groups and individuals, with two calls per year in Autumn and Spring. All staff who do research are eligible to apply, with applications from Early Career Researchers particularly welcome. Awards may be used to support wide spectrum of personal, professional or career development needs, such as (but not exclusively):

• Organising a workshop or conference where there is a developmental element;
• To cover or contribute to training course fees or group training activities;
• Travel for networking;
• Attending skills enhancement courses;
• Business collaboration activities;
• Undertaking community engagement/outreach and volunteering;
• Career coaching and advice.

Funding is not for development that is already available through the Researcher Development Programme or through Learning and Organisational Development.

Criteria have been developed for considering applications. They must demonstrate a clear and specific proposal (including dates), the development impact to the applicant (and others if applicable) is clearly defined, the proposed development cannot be met through existing provision, budgets have been taken seriously and are properly defined, the application remains within the required word count.

The applications are considered against the criteria specified and assessed by a panel consisting of the RDG representatives. A scoring matrix is used with School representatives pairing up and assessing applications from two Schools.

Award winners submit a 250-word end of project report. These reports are used by the School Representatives to inspire future applications from their Schools.

• What is the Researcher Development Concordat?
• The Three Principles.
• Who is the Researcher Development Concordat for?
• What does it mean for me as a researcher?
• What are my responsibilities as a PI or manager of researchers?
• Liverpool’s Statement of Expectations.
• Researcher Development Concordat at Liverpool.

A brief quiz at the end reinforces understanding.

The scheme was advertised via the RSA weekly e-bulletins and the University of Liverpool RSA twitter account and participants were asked to complete a simple expression of interest form. The questions on this form included: name, department, email address and why individuals wanted to participate in the buddy scheme. Each participant was matched with two to three other postdocs or ECRs which resulted in 9 groups of between 3-4 people in each group. All groups had a mix of faculties. Each buddy was emailed with the names and email addresses of the buddies in their group. Following the scheme participants were asked to complete an evaluation survey.

The flexible and innovative RD Roadmap provides diverse opportunities for participants to create a bespoke development experience for themselves. The RD Roadmap consists of four key areas and associated sub-areas, all of which are highly valued and sought after by employers both within and beyond academia and content is updated on a regular basis. As such, research and research-related staff are encouraged to explore the resources by regularly visiting the roadmap as part of their continuing development.

The four key areas and their sub-topics are:

* THRIVE: Career Confidence and Progression 

Developing skills to build confidence in your career can encourage movement beyond your comfort zone, increase personal and professional growth and positively impact career progression. In this theme further information and resources to support career development both within academia and beyond can be found.

• Sub-areas within this theme include: Mentoring and coaching, Networking and peer engagement and Leadership, management and funding.

* ADVANCE: Engagement and Influence 

Successful engagement can motivate individuals, create big ideas and lead to effective collaborations, which can increase the reach of research. This section will direct to resources to help to develop the knowledge and skills needed for success in engaging and influencing others.

• Sub-areas within this theme include: Collaboration and multidisciplinary, Teaching and supervision and Internal and external representation

* GROW: Research Impact

Ensuring that research has an impact on society is a fundamental part of the research lifecycle. There is an expectation from funders, industry and the general public for universities to demonstrate the value of their research and for the work they do to be visible. In this theme further information and resources to support researchers in achieving this goal can be found.

• Sub-areas within this theme include: Knowledge Exchange and research visibility, Communication and dissemination and Pathways beyond academia.

* REFLECT: Personal Effectiveness

Personal Effectiveness can mean different things for different people based on career, personal life, and goals. However, for most it involves finding ways to increase productivity, improve levels of happiness and job satisfaction, build stronger work relationships and reduce levels of stress/frustration. This section will direct to resources to help maximise personal effectiveness.

• Sub-areas within this theme include: Contribution to research culture, Resilience and wellbeing and Reflection on practice.

Each week included a live webinar with one or more academic guests, where participants heard directly from people navigating academic careers, posed questions and shared their own experiences. The webinars were recorded and posted on the course pages for anyone who missed them. The asynchronous materials were studied in participants' own time and they were encouraged to reflect on what they discovered and answer some reflective questions to help them embed their learning. The materials included information resources (such as labour market data on UK higher education) and video interviews with academics reflecting on their professional experiences.

Colleagues are invited to nominate a colleague/s anonymously for outstanding contributions across various categories each year: (1) research leadership; (2) collaborator; (3) support from professional services; (4) mentor; (5) early career researcher; (6) activity dedicated to enhancing research culture; and (7) research activity dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Importantly, nominees receive feedback from their nominations and are also invited to an awards ceremony to collectively celebrate endeavours. A panel reviews all nominations, identifying common themes and exceptional contributions, presents the “highly commended” nominees and raises the profile of all efforts during the Awards Ceremony. All nominees receive a Research Culture Awards e-certificate and button to add to their e-mail signature. Deans of Faculty and other senior managers are informed of all staff nominations and outcomes are shared via university & faculty newsletters and a dedicated blog.

This aligns with the institutional Concordat responsibility to regularly review and report on the quality of the research environment and culture, including seeking feedback from researchers, and use the outcomes to improve institutional practices (ECI6).

We received a good number of very helpful and constructive suggestions, and a clear view that there was already a wealth of support, resources and training available – although managers of researchers were not always aware of it and did not always access it. There were also gaps in our provision. The managers of researchers felt themselves to be very busy and wanted content to be available to them on demand, so that they could dip into it when they had space or when needed, and they wanted it to be in bite-sized chunks. There was a strong view that they did not want to have to attend a lengthy training programme, even online, and they didn't want long-winded presentations either.

We addressed this by developing a bespoke training ‘bundle’ for managers of researchers which contains clear signposting to resources and information, as well as specially developed training and advice. The training content is in short, bite-sized segments and all resources are available to access and download on demand.

The ‘bundle’ contains:

1. 1-minute 'snapshot' videos for busy managers explaining aspects of external governance; e.g., Athena SWAN; the different Concordats (for Engaging the Public with Research, on Open Research Data, to Support research Integrity, to Support the Career Development of Researchers, on Knowledge Exchange); DORA and responsible metrics; the HR Excellence in Research Award; the UK R&D People and Culture Strategy; and the Race Equality Charter
2. Signposting to key policy documents with accompanying short videos explaining what they mean for managers of researchers and the researchers they support
3. Bespoke short training videos on an introduction to coaching principles, advice for holding an effective annual appraisal, conducting a career development review, and supporting researchers to build an effective professional network
4. Introduction and signposting to resources, including the research staff mentoring scheme, mental health and wellbeing resources and support, careers service and their provision for researchers, and wider training and professional development opportunities available to researchers.

The ‘bundle’ was released to all existing managers of researchers, and they were sent a brief explanatory email drawing their attention to it and to the Concordat and the obligations that the Concordat places on them. Going forward, managers of researchers are contacted within 2 months of a new member of research-only staff being appointed to work with them and directed to the training 'bundle'.

The mentor/mentee pair was asked to arrange up to three meetings in a given time period depending on the action plan. The meetings were aligned to the goal(s) of the mentoring session, with a circuit breaker/review mid-way. Upon completion, feedback was collated in order for the scheme to be evaluated for assessment and recognition.

In phase one of the design process, we formed three peer groups of twelve research staff, academic line managers and professional support staff each. Participants were selected to reflect diversity across disciplines, gender, ethnicity, and career stage. These peer groups met separately in two online workshops to identify major challenges to fulfilling the Concordat’s principles in Oxford and to propose solutions. Miro, an online collaborative whiteboard platform, was chosen to facilitate individual input and collective analysis, to enable asynchronous contributions and to produce a comprehensive, transparent record of the process.

In phase two, four volunteer representatives (one per academic division) from each peer group came together in a final online workshop to review and prioritise actions proposed in previous workshops as a multi-stakeholder group. These actions were turned into a draft meant to capture the key focal areas of concern identified by the peer groups and point to possible solutions, aligning priorities with the Concordat principles.

• Redesigned the group that has oversight and governance of researcher development with terms of reference reflecting a wider context of environment and culture rather than a narrow bureaucratic focus on the Concordat.
• Re-launched Research Staff Forum and Researchers’ Networks with renewed energy and support, to engage the contract researcher and early-mid career communities respectively.
• Engaged the Readers’ and Professors’ fora in the life of the oversight group to provide a ‘vertically integrated’ group that covered all career stages.
• Prepared a new Concordat action plan that pulled together three strands: stakeholder feedback, Concordat gap analysis and University Strategy. The action plan was first prepared as a simple standalone document that was designed to engage and capture the imaginations of stakeholders, before being mapped into the Concordat pro-forma. Typically this had been done the other way around, leading to a fragmented action plan which did not connect sufficiently with institutional context or imperatives.